A/N: So I really hate work! I've barely had time to write on this, but at least I have plenty of chapters to fall back on and keep you all reading, right? Ok, enjoy! I'd also like the mention that I fixed a HUGE screwup from the beginning of the story. Morghann and Khary's daughter isn't Arianna. I don't know how I messed that up, but Arianna is actually the daughter of Aaron and Kalush. So...yeah...oops? (pets Dreams Made Flesh)

Chapter 11

It's almost time

Inuyasha watched Kagome sleep, his eyes starting to glaze over in his own exhaustion. Kilala and Shippo were both curled against Kagome's sides, leaving Inuyasha to sleep on the floor. He was sitting Indian style as usual, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed, determined to see his lover through the night. He could go without sleep for several days without feeling it too much, but eventually he would have to sleep. He half expected Kagome to wake up at any moment and make him get some sleep or she would stay up the rest of the night with him. The thought was promising but he ignored it quickly, knowing full well that Kagome was going to need her rest. This weekend was going to be hard on all of them and in the morning they were heading out to Amdarh. He wasn't looking forward to it, in fact, Inuyasha had a very bad feeling about the entire ordeal. He sensed that something was terribly wrong but couldn't quite figure out why or when he might find out what that something was.

Inuyasha blinked suddenly as he felt a furry mound press against his side. He glared momentarily at the large form of Kaelas as the Arcerian cat sat next to him and then relaxed as the cat rested his head in Inuyasha's lap. "You shouldn't be here," He murmured, reaching down to stroke Kaelas' soft fur. "If Jaenelle finds you not resting like you should be she's going to give you a wallop."

Kaelas ignored this, determined to show the hanyou Lord that he was dreadfully sorry for the things he'd been forced to do by Naraku. Inuyasha seemed to understand completely and allowed Kaelas to remain in the room for the rest of the night.

Sesshoumaru stared down at the empty bed that Rin had occupied only three nights before and felt anger ripple through him. She was in danger, he knew that, but he also knew that she was in Amdarh and safe...for the moment.

"If you have harmed her in any way, Naraku, I will slaughter you where you stand," Sesshoumaru snarled, looking towards the balcony doors. The moon lit the grounds from above, illuminating the gorgeous statues set in the center of the garden. Like Daemon and the others, Sesshoumaru had looked at those statues only once and knew immediately what they symbolized. He'd quickly seen himself as the monster and the woman as Rin, reaching out towards him with a loving smile. Sesshoumaru shuddered and slipped onto the bed, wrapping himself in her scent, reassuring himself that she would soon be back with him, safe and sound, and that Naraku would soon be dust in the wind.

"What do you think, Sango?"

There was silence as the demon slayer pondered their current location. "This is exactly where Kaede said we would find it," Sango stepped forward and extended her hand a few inches.

"Nothing there," Sango murmured and looked back to Miroku. "You try it from where you're standing,"

Miroku nodded and reached forward. For a moment he just stood there and then looked back at Sango. "I found it,"

"Then let's go! The others could be in trouble!" Sango's demeanor had changed greatly with the discovery of the breech in the barrier. After nearly two and half months of searching and traveling, they had finally found a way to their friends.

"The well was destroyed?"

"The well yes, but it can be repaired. The power of the well was merely used to create a bridge between the realms,"

"Between the realms?" Sango asked, rubbing her face in her exhaustion. She and Miroku had only just woken from their week long sleep after being knocked unconscious by the backlash of the well's power. "I don't understand..."

"Then I shall tell ye what I was told when I became the priestess of this village," Kaede shifted on her knees and folded her hands in her lap. "Long ago, there were three realms of the Earth. Kaeleer, Terreille and what is now Japan. The three races of Blood, Humans, which were called Landens, and Demons, Hanyous and Youkais alike, all lived amongst each other peacefully for a time before a creeping taint centuries ago caused a war to errupt. The tainted Blood, Demons and Humans, attacked those without the taint and threatened to tear the world apart. However, a solution was discovered to end the war and purge the taint from the races. Unfortunately, the taint was not purged and those who had created the taint were never destroyed. In order to preserve the land we call Japan, the ruling demons of that time teamed up with a very powerful Blood Witch and created a barrier that would close off entry between the realms."

"A witch?" Miroku inquired, studying the older woman intensely.

"Yes, a very powerful one at that. In Blood society, their lifestyle is matriarchal. Women are very important to them."

"Sounds like my kind of place-Owe!" Miroku rubbed his ribs where Sango had jabbed him with her elbow to quiet him.

"The Blood are very powerful beings, many are long lived like the Demons here. They channel their power through jewels, however, and are very efficient in spell casting."

"The dark arts?"

"Only some," Kaede reassured Sango with her next explanation, "Those whom use those dark arts are the tainted ones. They create chaos and ruin lives of many. You see, in Blood society, the Queen is the center of everything in that certain territory, and those of her court are there to protect her. In Kaeleer, the courts are exactly as they should have always been, with the Queen ruling in the center, with her coven of sister queens and witches around her, as well as the males of the court; Warlord Princes, the Steward of the Court, the First Escort, and of course the Consort. However, in Terreille, this changed. The male has no say in what his queen does at all and most of the Blood there cannot remember the old ways. They have little to no rights at all and there's a growing number of pleasure slaves coming on the market."

"Pleasure slaves?" Sango inquired, offended. "The men?"

"Yes," Kaede inclined her head to the younger woman. "The stronger jeweled males are kept subdued by what is called the Ring of Obedience among the Blood of Terreille."

"And how do they use this ring? How does it work?"

Kaede glanced at Miroku and sighed heavily. "It is slid onto the mans org-"

"STOP!" Miroku threw his hands up, flinching in imagined pain. "I get it..."

"It's painful of course," Kaede murmured. "However, in Kaeleer, the courts had begun to get out of hand and I have recently found out that, finally, the taint has been purged."

"There was a witch powerful enough?"

"Not a witch, but Witch. The dreams made flesh, Witch. The strongest Blood Witch to ever walk the realms. She was able to purge the taint, but at a terrible price. Her body was ravaged by the backlash of that power and it has taken quite some time for her to heal. Unfortunately, her jeweled strength of the Ebony was lost. At least, for the most part. She gave up that immense strength in order to live a normal life. Still, she was and remains to be the most powerful and eccentric Witch in existence."

"She's still alive?" Sango asked, astounded.

"Why, yes, she's only 28, give or take a year or three."

"But..."

"You must understand that between the first war that ended in the barrier going up around Japan, and the final war that rid the realms of the taint, on their side of the barrier at least, thousands upon thousands of years had passed." Kaede shifted on her knees again. "Now, you must now pay very close attention to what I am about to tell you,"

Sango and Miroku gave the elderly priestess their full and undivided attention. Well, almost.

"HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY DO THAT AT A TIME LIKE THIS!"

Miroku scrambled away from her, nursing yet another reddened hand print on his cheek. "I'm sorry, Sango!"

"Lecherous monk," She grumbled, turning back to Kaede.

She waited a moment before continuing. "Listen carefully. What happened a week ago with the well is of great significance. I believe an ancient enemy has arisen again and seeks the ultimate power to rule over the Blood and the Demons. He seeks to destroy the barrier and begin another war in order to rid himself of the strength now surrounding Kaeleer and Terreille."

"How did he arise?"

"By baiting one of our enemies into freeing him."

"Naraku,"

"Correct," Kaede smiled as Sango began to quickly catch on. "Naraku was tempted by the power this threat promised and was eager to free him. However, I believe strongly that Naraku is being used as a puppet, whether he knows it or not. I am not making excuses for the vile demon, but I am sure that there is a more sinister plan involved than what Naraku had been told. Naraku was told how to use the power of the Bone Eaters Well to create a moving rift in the barrier separating the realms so that the demons could flow into Kaeleer and begin the war. Unfortunately for him, this plan did not go as well as he had hoped. Because Lord Inuyasha, Lord Sesshoumaru and Lady Kagome and Rin were so close to the well at the time, the power used to create the rift also sent them spiraling into Kaeleer."

"Naraku hadn't counted on that,"

"Not from my understanding of it, no he hadn't. At least, not Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru."

"What do you mean?" Miroku asked, his eyes widening as he began to understand.

"Kagome?"

"Yes," Kaede sighed heavily. "Remember the ultimate power I spoke of?"

"Of course...Kagome's Miko powers."

"Yes, and those powers were intense but now that she's crossed the threshold into Kaeleer, her powers have no doubt doubled."

"So by bringing Kagome into Kaeleer the enemy thought to gain her power for himself?"

"Correct," Kaede nodded again. "But Kagome's power is only half of that ultimate power. There is a second source that the enemy seeks to gain in order to have control over the ultimate."

"The witch..." Miroku moaned. "He's after Kagome and the Witch."

"Yes, again." Kaede looked briefly to the flickering fire between them. "I'm afraid that by destroying Kagome and Jaenelle, that's the witches' name, he will have rid himself of that last force that could forever imprison him, or destroy him completely. He would rule the world with an iron fist and start a chain of chaos that would eventually cripple the land and everyone inhabiting it."

The news wasn't something they had liked to hear. But if it got them their friends back, they would hear the priestess out. A silence settled over them for a bit before Sango spoke up.

"If this rift moves, how will we catch it?"

"You will have to travel north quite a ways. There's a clearing beyond the hot springs where this rift is often present. Many demons have traveled through it at this point, but very few at a time because the rift keeps moving. It rarely remains in one spot for more than three minutes. You will have to make haste in order to pass through it before it moves. However, once on the other side there will be quite a bit more traveling for you to do before you will find Inuyasha and Kagome. I believe strongly that they are either at the Dark Mountain; Ebon Askavi, or at SaDiablo Hall deep in the heart of Kaeleer. Once you reach Kaeleer you will have to travel to the nearest town and seek out the Queen of that territory. Find out how to get to the Keep at Ebon Askavi and warn the great dragon of what is coming."

"Great Dragon?" Miroku asked.

"All I know of him is that he is the origin of the Blood and that their jewels of power are in fact the scales of the dragons who used to inhabit this place long ago." Kaede rose from the floor and dusted herself off. "I have told you everything that I know, and now you must go, and quickly. If you do not leave now you will have to wait three days in the north for the rift to return, and by then it could be too late."

Now Miroku and Sango glanced at each other for a brief moment before Sango got a firm grip in Miroku's robes and let him lead through the rift in the barrier. A faint tingling sensation ran along Sango's spine for a moment and then there was nothing but sunlight and the rich scent of life. They were standing in the middle of a forest well to the south of where their final destination was.

"So this is Kaeleer," Miroku murmured, finding his hand on Sango's hip to be exquisitely pleasant.

"Move your hand, Miroku, or I'm going to pound you into the dirt with Hiraikotsu." Sango growled, her eyes narrowed in distaste.

"I can't help it, Sango!" Miroku whined, smiling in spite of her threat. "But let's get going, we've got a lot of ground to cover."

"Yeah, let's find the nearest city and get the information we need,"

End of chapter! Haha...Now the plot has come into play...well...more so than before! What a relief that Sango and Miroku are back, ne?

Erialie: XDD Isn't it just so entertaining?

LongShadow: It's actually unfolding better than I had expected. And don't worry, Lord Fluffy will be used against Sesshy in future chapters! Reviews 3

Paksennarion: If you can't find it, try ordering it! It's an excellent read and the only reason I haven't slowed down on updating too terribly much is because I made sure that I had at least 10 chapters done before I uploaded this. I wanted to make sure that if I got behind in writing, I had plenty to fall back on for you guys! I just finished, or am like three paragraphs from finishing, chapter 18! So yeah...woot!